A Week of Assassinations and Murders

If you are a regular on the Internet, then you must have read about the mysterious assassination of Boris Nemtsov, the prominent Russian opposition leader who has been openly criticizing President Vladimir Putin’s policies. Nemtsov was shot dead on Friday, Feb. 27, in Moscow, just 100 meters away from the Kremlin. He was walking with his Ukrainian girlfriend, model Anna Duritskaya, who survived the attack of the unknown gunman.

Nemtsov supporters, protesting in his honor. Photo from BBC News.

Nemtsov has been an active and outspoken member of the opposition since the 1980s, including the years when he served as a deputy prime minister during Boris Yeltsin’s presidency. In that same period, Nemtsov was mayor of Nizhny Novgorod, where he allowed the existence of small private businesses despite the general policy of nationalization. Many speculate on who could be responsible for Nemtsov’s killing. The most frequent and immediate answer is President Putin, whose policy towards Ukraine has long been the object of Nemtsov’s criticism.

According to the British newspaper, The Independent, “He was said to possess proof of Russia’s intervention in the Donbass and was killed two days before a march that he and other opposition leaders hoped would rekindle the anti-Putin movement of 2011-12.” The same publication reports of a lamenting letter sent by President Putin to the mother of his slain opponent, which stirred comments about “the depravity” of Russian politics.

On Sunday, March 1, almost 20,000 supporters of Nemtsov protested against the murder. What was supposed to be a Nemtsov-led opposition rally turned into a mass protest in his honor.President Putin has yet to issue a statement of his

Flowers were placed at the spot of the shooting in honor of Nemtsov’s death. Photo from Reuters.

own. So far, his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said, “Putin noted that this cruel murder has all the makings of a contract hit and is extremely provocative.” Presidential investigators, following Putin’s orders, are offering a monetary reward for any information on Nemtsov’s death.

In the meantime on the other side of the world, the US has been shattered by a wave of shootings, forced suicides and teenage killings.A man was shot in Los Angeles by three LAPD officers. The motive for the killing is yet to be clarified. The man was already on the ground after the police used a Taser (an electrical weapon), but officers claim the man tried to reach for one of their guns.After five gunshots, accompanied by the screams of bystanders, the man died. Many Americans have condemned this death and are questioning the appropriate circumstances that demand the necessity of police lethal force.

On Friday, Feb. 27, an Alabama 14-year-old was killed after a quarrel she had with two girls on Facebook.The three girls allegedly met outside in a park, when two boys with guns joined them and killed the young girl.The police arrested the two boys, who are 17 and 19. Their names have not been released.